Caroline Lawrence

I was given this by my editor to show me what could be done in a mid-grade novel, and I'm bloody glad of it. Lawrence acknowledges her debt to Charles Portis, as well she should. True Grit is one of my favourite novels, and this is a worthy homage. Our young protagonist, PK, is half-Indian, autistic and on the run after their adoptive parents are horribly murdered by the deadly desperados. There follows a wild chase from the small town where PK lives via the back of a stagecoach, through the show more Chinese laundries, saloons, bordellos, newspaper offices, muddy streets and shops of Virginia to the bottom of a pitch-black mine-shaft, with a few rare pauses for breath to ponder the mystery of what they're after and why and encounter a few of the colourful folk living there, some considerably less trustworthy than others. Vividly entertaining, this manages to stay grounded while keeping things age-appropriate with a few sly wry nods to grown-up readers. show less

Though Thieves Of Ostia was an assured and confident debut, this, the second in the PK Pinkerton series of western mysteries, is the delightful, well-crafted work of an experienced author. After all, I guessed the culprit early on in Thieves, but The Petrified Man kept me guessing till the final showdown.

Hired by by a terrified serving girl to find the man who murdered her mistress, a Soiled Dove ifyouknowwhatImeanandIthinkyoudo, the redoubtable, indefatigable but far from invulnerable PK show more cuts a swathe of chaos through Virginia City, 1862, with bullets and brawls and general upset following the investigation through saloons and cribs and newspaper offices and theaters and auctions houses. PK has a list of suspects and nothing, not desperadoes with guns or burning stables or lynch mobs or even jail is going to get in the way.

Funny, sharp, poignant, devilshly clever but also a wonderful and lively evocation of the Gold Rush town in all its glory, with an endearing and pragmatic protagonist whose oddly heartbreaking aim is to solve the enduring mystery of why people do the things they do. show less

The second volume of the Roman Mysteries series goes like a rocket, as Flavia and friends travel for a nice peaceful holiday near the city of Pompeii, AD 79. While they poke around at a few mysteries - an odd riddle, an elusive blacksmith - Vesuvius sleeps peacefully - until it doesn't. Not only are the mysteries solved, they're solved while trying to escape a massive volcanic eruption. The characters are downright adorable, the action is superbly orchestrated and paced, the eruption and the show more race for survival are epic and dangerous and dark. Superb. show less

My feelings on this book go in two directions - it was very well-written and engaging for for middle readers, but it also had some darker moments that turned me off a little.